This new bridge, celebrated at a groundbreaking ceremony April 4, will connect the community to its new nature center.
Located on 40 acres off Amsterdam Road in Washington Township, the property purchased by The Institute in 2021 will be known as Buttonwood Nature Center – Home of The Institute.
“We recognized the need for a name that reflects our new identity … we let the landscape guide our choice,” offered Tracy Holliday, executive director. The Institute was based at Renfrew Museum and Park in Waynesboro from 1990 to 2020.
“Buttonwood is a folk name for the American Sycamore tree. There are more than 40 on the property. They can live up to 150 years. The tightly-grained wood was historically used for making wooden buttons, which resist splitting. There also are environmental benefits of buttonwood trees,” she added. A logo to reflect the nature center name was created by Lesley Quesada, a local graphic designer.
Work on the single-span bridge, which will carry visitors over Red Run Stream, is expected to begin April 8, with a target completion date of early September, according to Holliday. The bridge will have the capacity to withstand crossings by school buses and other large scale vehicles. Buttonwood will be open by special arrangements pending completion of the bridge.
The project by Kinsley Construction, York, will lead the way to “additional amenities including a timber-framed pavilion, educational building, nature playscape and trail development,” Holliday said. “We also plan to conserve our one-acre pond, a beautiful, prominent feature of the nature center and living classroom,” Holliday said.
The 1979 house on the property will be adapted as a welcome center and administrative headquarters.
“We recognize with tremendous gratitude the cornerstone gift of $500,000 by the Nora Roberts Foundation that opened the door to the purchase of this property,” noted Holliday. “Thanks to them and the additional donors who have contributed to our capital campaign, Ensuring the Future, we are able to move forward with our vision for a community nature center.”
Gifts and pledges of more than $2.8 million to date will be used to fund the undertaking, which includes the $750,000 purchase of the property. “We will accomplish multiple projects throughout 2024-25 and additional improvements will happen on a timeline that matches our financial resources. The cost for accomplishing planned projects has eclipsed our original expectation of $3 million,” she added.
Programming
Since 1990, The Institute has created and delivered programs for students of all ages, providing opportunities to learn about their cultural and natural heritage. Additional programs and workshops for adults and older teens also were developed, as well as weekend events and festivals for families.
Environmental programs help students understand how nature works and what role humans play in the ecosystem and advanced scientific exploration include watershed and wetland studies.
Programs contain cultural history components, where students learn about food production and preservation, making clothing from textiles (flax to linen, wool into yarn and cloth), plus dairy culture (historic and modern), gardening and more.
For adults and teens, there are a variety of community learning lectures and workshops on cultural and environmental topics throughout the year, as well as field trips.
An after-school watershed and stream study program for middle-schoolers called WaterStriders, meets monthly year-round.
For more information about Buttonwood Nature Center, call 717-762-0373 or visit:
ButtonwoodNatureCenter.org
